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Ogwumike, No. 4 Stanford women rout Arizona 73-43

By RICK EYMER Associated Press

Posted:
02/09/2013 12:06:32 AM EST

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Stanford 's Chiney Ogwumike (13) grabs a rebound next to Arizona 's Carissa Crutchfield (4) and Alli Gloyd, right, during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game in Stanford, Calif., Friday, Feb. 8, 2013.

STANFORD, Calif.—Chiney Ogwumike is used to posting big numbers on most nights. Mikaela Ruef surprised herself by nearly matching Ogwumike.

Ogwumike had 18 points and 12 rebounds for her seventh straight double-double, leading No. 4 Stanford past Arizona 73-43 on Friday night. Ruef scored 11 points and had 10 rebounds for her first career double-double.

"It was weird. I thought I'd never score 11 points in a game," said Ruef, a high school Gatorade Player of the Year in Ohio. "That's way too much. Normally it is not my job to score."

Stanford coach Tara VanDerveer has been pushing for the rest of the team to become offensive contributors in an attempt to ease the pressure on Ogwumike.

Ruef listened.

"Tara told me to be confident in my moves when I got into position on the block," Ruef said. "I didn't know I had any moves, but I did want to be confident when taking a shot."

Joslyn Tinkle added 15 points, including a 3-of-4 effort from long range, for the Cardinal (21-2, 10-1 in the Pac-12), who won their seventh straight.

"We can't just be a one-trick pony," VanDerveer said. "We can't be all about Chiney. When people play with Chiney, she makes it look so easy. Others need to assert themselves more. Mikaela got in deep and scored against them."

Alli Gloyd scored 13 points to lead the Wildcats (11-11, 3-8 Pac-12), who lost their sixth straight and have dropped eight of 10 overall since opening the season 9-3.

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"We didn't play very well," Arizona coach Niya Butts said. "I think we did some good things defensively, but we just couldn't score. We were missing layups in the paint."

Ogwumike missed three of her first four shots, allowing Arizona to remain within striking distance midway through the first half. She made four of her next five shots, however, coinciding with a 17-6 run that gave Stanford a 31-19 halftime advantage.

Stanford has held its last 41 opponents to less than 70 points, an ongoing school record.

Davellyn White, the Pac-12's active scoring leader, was held below 10 points for the first time this season, and the first time since last year's matchup with Stanford, a span of 31 games. She has 1,932 career points.

"She plays so hard and she's always hitting the floor," Butts said. "She's banged up at the moment, but she will be OK. She's played through a lot."

White did set a school record with her 119th career start. She had been tied with Dee Dee Wheeler.

The Wildcats were able to force the Cardinal into a season-high 19 turnovers, but also turned the ball over 19 times themselves.

The Cardinal eventually built a 20-point advantage within the first six minutes of the second half and cruised the rest of the way, beating the Wildcats for the 22nd consecutive meeting. Arizona last beat Stanford in 2004.

Stanford played without starting guard Toni Kokenis, who sat out as a precaution for an undisclosed illness.

The Cardinal, who lead the conference in three-point field goal percentage defense, limited the Wildcats to 1 of 14 from long range.